Shareholders have faith in loss-making Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) as stock climbs 3.7% in past week, taking five-year gain to 135%

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTGX) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 10% in the last month. But in stark contrast, the returns over the last half decade have impressed. In fact, the share price is 135% higher today. Generally speaking the long term returns will give you a better idea of business quality than short periods can. Ultimately business performance will determine whether the stock price continues the positive long term trend.

Since the stock has added US$61m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

See our latest analysis for Protagonist Therapeutics

Because Protagonist Therapeutics made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

For the last half decade, Protagonist Therapeutics can boast revenue growth at a rate of 14% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. Broadly speaking, this solid progress may well be reflected by the healthy share price gain of 19% per year over five years. Given that the business has made good progress on the top line, it would be worth taking a look at the growth trend. Accelerating growth can be a sign of an inflection point - and could indicate profits lie ahead. Worth watching 100%

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

If you are thinking of buying or selling Protagonist Therapeutics stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Protagonist Therapeutics' TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 27%. That gain looks pretty satisfying, and it is even better than the five-year TSR of 19% per year. It is possible that management foresight will bring growth well into the future, even if the share price slows down. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Protagonist Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Protagonist Therapeutics is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course Protagonist Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.